Ebola drug trials need volunteers

Last week it was announced that Prof Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, would lead clinical trials to identify a vaccine to tackle Ebola, which has killed more than 1,500 people in West Africa.

Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder, who said the trial was part-funded by European Union research funding, has called on the EU to secure extra funding for the trial.

She said: “Unlocking additional EU cash could give this life-saving study an important boost.”

Prof Hill, 55, from Headington, is seeking more than 60 volunteers from Oxford and the surrounding area.

He said: “We hope to open recruitment from next week. This is a highly regulated matter with strict confidentiality provisions for the subjects.”

Prof Hill is seeking 60 volunteers, and they will be split into groups of 20 to receive different doses of the vaccine.

The professor, who has worked in the vaccination field for the past 20 years, said earlier he was “quite confident” that a vaccine could work against Ebola.

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